Ève RUGGIERI: extracts from the Toulouse Atout Cœur 2009 evening, Centre des Congrès Pierre Baudis, Toulouse and extracts from La Dépêche du Midi (2009)
“(…) They started brilliantly, these two twins were students at the conservatoire, they went through all those stages (…) where you have to master the technique, the fingers, and then put in the interpretation, it’s a long journey. -At the age of 14, they were recognised by the excellent musicians of the Strasbourg Philharmonic Orchestra. Maestro Theodor Guschlbauer awarded them the prize, and two years later they won the very difficult Steinway & Sons competition in Berlin.
And then everything opened up before them, and from one day to the next, both their hands were paralysed, and that’s something that really kills you, in other words, in one fell swoop, years of work, years of investment, years of passion, efforts and dreams, were reduced to nothing. And then you say “well, that’s it”. I’ve known a lot of singers who’ve had terrible vocal cord problems and who’ve stopped after years, having only invested themselves in that.
Now they’re going to start trying to survive again. And that’s unique, I haven’t seen other cases like that, in other words, trying to wiggle their fingers, to go today, we’ll get as far as we can by walking, helping each other, tomorrow we’ll maybe get to the third and then maybe we’ll be able to sit down in front of a piano and start wiggling our fingers. And because there are two of them, they’re not alone in this drama. And frankly, they really moved me. (…) “
“I was touched by the mobilisation of the Atout Cœur association after the explosion at the AZF factory. This year, when I was told about two twin sister pianists whose career development had been halted by an orphan genetic disease, I agreed to present the evening. Diane and Audrey Pleynet were 16 when they lost the use of their hands. Thanks to their maternal grandparents, they were treated in specialist hospitals. After several months of intensive rehabilitation, they were able to use their hands again and resume playing the piano. On 23 April, they will be guests at Atout Cœur. You have to come and listen to them to salute their courage”, explains Ève Ruggieri. ( …) Diane and Audrey Pleynet, who have taken up composition in recent years, will be playing some of their own works that evening. They have entitled one of their pieces “Bonheur retrouvé”. “They are very touching”, says Ève Ruggieri (…)”.
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
